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One morning in the winter of 1936, He Zizhen, who was pregnant in October, suddenly had a stomachache, and she had a premonition that she was about to give birth.
Chairman Mao immediately sent guards to ask a female comrade to deliver the baby.
When the female comrade learned of the situation, she took the baby quilt and small clothes that had been sewn long ago, and immediately went out the door.
When she arrived, he Zizhen's stone hanging in his heart instantly fell to the ground, and he said happily:
"With Sister-in-law Liu here, I am relieved!"
Who is this lesbian? Why is it so trusted by Chairman Mao and He Zizhen?
Photo with Gui Rong and Liu Zhidan
She is the wife of Liu Zhidan, a famous contemporary early childhood educator and revolutionary martyr, Tong Guirong.
Hun jin pu jade, orchid lavender heart
On December 23, 1905, Tong Guirong was born into a farming family in Baibao Town, Wuqi County, Shaanxi Province.
Of the nine siblings in the family, she was the fourth oldest.
Because of the water spirit, when Tong Guirong was a child, he set up a doll kiss with Liu Zhidan in the same hometown under the arrangement of his grandfather.
Later, Liu Zhidan became the leader of the revolution, and she was his inner helper.
It was also under the influence of her husband that Tong Guirong grew from a simple peasant woman to a revolutionary with firm convictions.
In 1934, at the age of 29, she joined the Red Army.
During the revolution, she enthusiastically served the vast number of Red Army soldiers and actively participated in the logistical support of the Red Army.
No matter who comes to Tong Guirong to do things, she will do her best to help.
The warriors affectionately called her "Sister-in-law Liu".
At that time, the winter in northern Shaanxi was always cold and windy, and the cold was bone-chilling.
And this coincided with the most difficult period for the Red Army.
Lack of clothing and food, wind and food and sleeping are the norm.
Nibbling on tree bark, eating wild vegetables, and even eating belts has become common food.
In a winter, most soldiers survived on a thin uniform that had been patched up many times.
At that time, having a warm cotton coat and a pair of cotton shoes became a luxury for the warriors.
All this was seen by Tong Guirong in his eyes and hurt in his heart.
But it was difficult for a woman to cook without rice, and all she could do was help the soldiers sew clothes and pants.
What is even more heart-wrenching is that soldiers are like this, and leading cadres naturally do not open small stoves.
At that time, wherever Chairman Mao went, he was always dressed in a single coat with cloth shoes.
In the winter, Tong Guirong saw that Chairman Mao's entire feet were frozen blue and purple, and his ears and fingers had already produced frostbite, and a pang of sadness could not help but rush into his heart.
Because of this, a thought came to her mind.
That night, Tong Guirong used his sleep time to make a pair of soft and warm cotton shoes for the chairman by means of a faint kerosene lamp light.
As for the material, she had secretly removed it from her own quilt.
Receiving this "generous gift", the chairman could not help but be very grateful, and even exclaimed:
"Winter in northern Shaanxi is not so cold anymore!"
Later, Tong Guirong also sewed a pair for each of the other leaders.
Years later, when Chairman Mao saw her again, he still remembered Liu's sister-in-law's warm cotton shoes.
And Tong Guirong not only has a deep friendship with Chairman Mao, but also has a great friendship with He Zizhen.
Although He Zizhen was a student who had received new ideas, and Tong Guirong was just a peasant woman with calluses and had not attended school for a day, this did not prevent the two from becoming good sisters.
Tong Guirong liked to let He Zizhen teach her to read and read, liked to listen to He Zizhen talk about the difficult experience on the Long March, and how the crowd risked escaping under the strafing of enemy aircraft...
He Zizhen, on the other hand, likes to listen to Gui Rong talk about the folklore and daily life of northern Shaanxi.
In this way, not only can the distance between the two people be narrowed, but also the people's feelings can be better understood and the revolution can be carried out.
Not only that, when Tong Guirong's logistics work was busy, He Zizhen also offered to let her entrust her daughter to her own care.
While Chairman Mao and He Zizhen were busy with the revolution, Tong Guirong often helped He Zizhen with household chores.
Over time, the three of them developed a close and trusting relationship on the road of revolution.
Same with Gui Rong
In addition to caring for the soldiers and leaders, Tong Guirong was also very concerned about the descendants and orphans of the Red Army soldiers.
At that time, many comrades wanted to go to the front line, and they could only put their children in the homes of their fellow villagers in northern Shaanxi.
After learning of this, Tong Guirong will be the first to stand up every time and carefully choose reliable peasant families for them.
Not only that, Tong Guirong also delivered many children of the Red Army.
Naturally, as a good friend, He Zizhen is no exception.
That's where the opening scene begins.
When the children were born, Tong Guirong cared for them even more.
When the child is sick, she will help come up with ideas and find a doctor;
The child has no milk to eat, and she will help find the nurse.
Over time, the children all called GuiRong Mother Liu.
Years later, many children have become the pillars of the country.
In 1995, when Li Tieying, who was already a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, came to visit Tong Guirong, his first sentence was:
"Mother Liu, I haven't seen you for many years, and I often think of you and worry about you."
In fact, Tong Guirong's quality of caring for others and selfless dedication is not only because of his simple character and kindness, but also her husband Liu Zhidan has a profound impact on him...
Destiny marriage, the beginning of the legend
The marriage between the two stemmed from the agreement of the elderly in the family.
Tong Guirong's peasant grandfather Tong Xirui and Liu Zhidan's (former name: Liu Jinggui) grandfather Liu Shijie are very good friends.
Same with Gui Rong
Once, Liu Shijie came to visit his old friend at the same house.
Before he could enter the house, he heard the hearty laughter of the little girls playing and playing, and he couldn't help but feel envious.
Therefore, just after stepping into the house, Liu Shijie said a few words of greeting, and then joked with his old friend:
"You have so many little granddaughters, can't you give up to me as a granddaughter-in-law?"
I didn't expect liu Shijie's joke, but it made the honest and loyal Tong Xirui take it seriously.
He hurriedly called his granddaughters and said:
"Good granddaughter, when you grow up, do you want to go to Grandpa Liu's house to enjoy the blessings?"
Where do girls who are only seven or eight years old understand the matter of marriage?
Or just after playing, they stood in front of Liu Shijie one by one with red faces.
Seeing the situation, Liu Shijie was very happy, and according to the old customs, he asked about the girls' birthdays one by one.
When he asked about Tong Guirong, he suddenly smiled, caressed her head, and said to Tong Xirui:
"I look at this youngest baby girl the most suitable, looking witty. And it also belongs to the snake, just my grandson Jing Gui belongs to the rabbit, this saying: if you want to be rich, the snake pan rabbit. ”
Although Tong Xirui did not understand these things, he also felt that it was quite reasonable to listen to it, so he agreed to it.
In this way, the two old men set up dolls for the two children.
Until Liu Zhidan was 15 years old, under the arrangement of his grandfather, he came to the same family and met his future father-in-law and mother-in-law.
Tong Guirong's father, Tong Bingxiong, saw that Liu Zhidansheng was tall and tall.
And under the guidance of his grandfather, he treated people with courtesy and no trace of arrogance.
Tong Bingxiong liked it very much in his heart.
Liu Zhidan
It was also during this visit that Liu Zhidan also met with his future wife.
Although the two were still young and shy at the time, they did not say a word, but just secretly looked at each other.
But after the separation, in the face of the parents' inquiries, they all smiled and nodded, which meant love at first sight.
In May 1921, at the age of 18, Liu Zhidan officially married his granddaughter.
Because of the times, Tong Guirong actually did not have a big name at that time.
Everyone only called her nipple name: "Showgirl".
"This is all adults, how can it be called a milk name?"
Liu Zhidan naturally did not want his wife to be nameless and surnameless, so he took the word "Gui" in his old name, added a "Rong" character, and named his wife "Tong Gui Rong".
It means the same struggle and the same prosperity.
After that, Liu Zhidan also started from the name, taught his wife to learn literacy and culture every day, and taught her new ideas such as science and democracy.
Under the influence of the ears, Tong Guirong was deeply affected by it.
So, as a person from the same village, where did Liu Zhidan learn these new cultures and new ideas?
Shuxiang Mendi, a lifetime of horses
Liu Zhidan was born on October 4, 1903 in Jinding Town, Bao'an County, Shaanxi Province.
Grandfather Liu Shijie was a Xiucai during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, so the Liu family can be regarded as a scholarly door.
As a rare intellectual of that era, Liu Shijie naturally attached great importance to the education of his grandson.
Therefore, Liu Zhidan has been familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics since he was a child and attended the best private school in the local area.
In the spring of 1919, at the age of 16, he came to Yongning Mountain Higher Primary School.
At that time, there was a teacher named Li Zicai, who was a loyal disciple of Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
He often promoted new ideas such as democracy and science to his students.
This is very different from the traditional culture that Liu Zhidan has been exposed to since childhood, but he is deeply inspired, believing that this is a good way to save the country and save the people.
From that moment on, the seeds of revolution were planted in his heart.
In the spring of 1922, in order to pursue new ideas, Liu Zhidan bid farewell to his wife who had been newly married for one year and went to Yulin Middle School in northern Shaanxi to study.
Just like elementary school, here he met the "guide" of life.
At that time, yulin middle school had a teacher named Li Zizhou.
He was an active participant in the May Fourth Movement and one of the earliest CCP members in the northwest.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Zizhou engaged in revolutionary work while spreading new ideas for students and winning more aspiring young people for the organization.
Among the people, Liu Zhidan was the one who was most attracted.
During that time, he often went to consult teachers about Marxist issues and discuss state affairs.
In the process of coming and going, Li Zizhou also found that Liu Zhidan was a rare talent.
Li Zizhou
Therefore, after the establishment of the party branch in Yulin Middle School in 1925, Liu Zhidan successfully joined and served as a member of the branch.
Thus he began to devote himself to the revolutionary cause as a member of the Communist Party.
In the autumn of the same year, because of the arrangement of the party organization, Liu Zhidan needed to secretly go to Guangzhou to enter the Whampoa Military Academy for further study.
At this time, just as he was visiting his family in his hometown, various problems followed for a while.
Because it means making an excuse to leave his wife and parents behind and go further.
Most importantly, Liu Zhidan, who has just graduated from high school, has no entanglement in his body, and he is not willing to reach out to the organization for money.
Just when Liu Zhidan was worried about this matter, Tong Guirong saw her husband's unspeakable secret.
She asked cautiously and tentatively:
"Could it be that something is not going well at school or at work?"
Hearing this concern, Liu Zhidan's heart was even more uncomfortable, and he could only bow his head and be silent.
And this move of his has already made Tong Guirong guess a rough idea.
In order to support her husband, she ran back to her mother's house the next day and borrowed more than a dozen taels of silver from her parents.
Looking at his wife sweating profusely and holding the borrowed silver two, Liu Zhidan was very grateful in his heart.
But because of the urgency of time and the need to keep it secret, he only hugged his wife tightly after getting the money, and then turned his head and hurried away.
Looking at her husband's fading back, Tong Guirong couldn't stop leaving tears.
It's just that these tears have thoughts and pride.
Liu Zhidan
Liu Zhidan went for three years, during which there was no news.
Tong Guirong did not know what her husband was doing, but only guessed that he had gone to the revolution.
But in any case, she didn't want to hold her husband's hind legs.
Therefore, in the years of Liu Zhidan's absence, Tong Guirong also began to try to serve the party organization as much as he could.
Delivering letters, standing guard, making military uniforms and flags, mobilizing the masses, and treating wounded soldiers at home...
Although she did not join the party, as long as there was a need for the party, Tong Guirong would always throw herself into it without complaint.
Everyone saw that she was so diligent, and they all praised her as "really old Liu's big helper."
On the other hand, in October 1926, after more than a year of further study, Liu Zhidan successfully graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy.
Subsequently, he immediately followed in the footsteps of the National Revolutionary Army and participated in the Northern Expedition.
During the war, Liu Zhidan actively participated in the battle.
This accumulated valuable experience for him in organizing uprisings and building troops in the future.
He successively served as chief of the Organization Section of the General Political Department of the National Coalition Army and chief of the Political Department of the Fourth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army.
However, when victory was in sight, something unexpected happened to everyone.
Chiang Kai-shek abruptly launched the "April 12" counter-revolutionary coup in 1927.
For a time, white terror enveloped the whole country, and the Kuomintang began to massacre the Communists.
Despite the grim situation, Liu Zhidan never wanted to abandon his red identity.
After the defeat of the Great Revolution, he traveled to Hubei, Anhui, Shaanxi and other provinces, organizing and launching uprisings many times.
Regrettably, however, these uprisings have mostly failed due to immature conditions.
A year later, he accepted the dispatch of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee and returned to northern Shaanxi, where he was most familiar with it, to continue to carry out revolutionary work and serve as the secretary of the Military Commission of the Northern Shaanxi Special Committee.
Liu Zhidan sculpture
In the same year, Liu Zhidan participated in the organization of the Weihua Uprising, the largest peasant uprising in the great northwest.
However, due to lack of experience, the uprising was separated from the masses, and the foundation was not stable enough.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chiang Kai-shek quickly organized three divisions to suppress it.
In this way, the weak rebel troops were beaten to pieces, and the uprising was declared a failure.
After the failure of the Weihua Uprising, Liu Zhidan returned to his hometown.
Because he had been out of the water and soil for many years, he had scabies on his body.
Every night, it is even more itchy and difficult to sleep.
When Tong Guirong saw this situation, he took back herbs from the mountains and boiled them into a medicinal soup for her husband to scrub, and it took half a month to cure her husband's scabies.
And this meeting also allowed the husband and wife to have a crystallization of love.
In the winter of 1929, Tong Guirong gave birth to a baby girl.
In that backward era, the idea of son preference was still very serious.
Tong Guirong wanted to test her husband and said deliberately in frustration:
"It's good to have children, but it's just a baby girl."
Hearing this, Liu Zhidan immediately put away the smile on his face, and retorted to his wife with his eyebrows locked:
"Don't look at the baby girl, you can still be a hero in the future!"
Later, he personally named his daughter Liu Lizhen (later renamed "Lizhen").
With Gui Rong and his daughter
But unfortunately, Liu Zhidan has been busy with the revolutionary cause since he was in good health.
Naturally, Xiao Lizhen rarely received the company of her father.
The burden of raising her daughter also fell on Tong Guirong.
In 1932, Liu Zhidan successfully created the first regular Red Army in Shaanxi and Gansu, the 26th Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.
In order to make this unit develop and grow smoothly, Liu Zhidan became busier, sometimes he couldn't even take care of food, let alone go home to see his wife and daughter.
In February 1933, Liu Zhidan led the Red Army to garrison Liu Jiaping in Bao'an County.
In fact, it was only 5 miles from his house.
However, he was busy with military affairs all day, devoting almost all his time and energy to army building, and never returned home.
Once, Tong Guirong missed her husband too much and ran to visit him.
But just before he could say a few words to his husband, Liu Zhidan was busy moving the team again.
However, for these, Tong Guirong can understand.
After all, in the face of the feelings of home and country, the love of children is indeed not enough to hang their teeth.
This is the moment, they do not know, the family will face a bigger test.
With the growth of the team, Liu Zhidan also had great prestige in northern Shaanxi.
Therefore, the Kuomintang offered rewards everywhere for his arrest.
The notice at the time read:
"The prize for the raw catcher is 20,000 yuan, the award for the first class is 10,000 yuan, and the reward for the proof killer is 600 yuan."
Not only that, the Kuomintang could not catch Liu Zhidan, so it went to find his family.
They raided Liu Zhidan's home and even planed his ancestral grave.
Tong Guirong, as Liu Zhidan's wife, was also rewarded with two hundred oceans.
As a result, homeless, she had to take her daughter and mother-in-law and a dozen other people to hide around in the deep mountains and old forests, and the wind and food were open.
At one point, the enemy forced her to the edge of a cliff.
In order not to fall into the hands of the enemy, she jumped down with the belief that she would die.
Luckily, a bush sticking out of the cliff hung up on her, allowing her to take her life.
Later, according to Tong Guirong's own account, she hid with her daughter in a damp cave for 8 days.
During this period, the two had only a small amount of rations and rain to fill their stomachs.
In the face of this hard life, she never complained, and there was only one thought in her heart:
"Liu Zhidan's mother-in-law, even if she dies, she can't let the enemy catch her."
In the end, it was only under the search of the guerrillas that the mother and daughter were found.
Same with Gui Rong
In the late autumn of 1934, Tong Guirong also joined the Red Army.
That winter was particularly cold that year, Liu Zhidan stroked his arm and sighed to Tong Guirong:
"This year is really cold, when I was young, my body was good, anti-freezing, and my activities and activities have passed." Now that I'm older, I can't bear it, and my arm always hurts."
Hearing this, Tong Guirong did not say anything on the surface, but just smiled and helped her husband massage his arm.
However, the next morning, she found many rags, put them together piece by piece, and sewed a cotton vest for Liu Zhidan.
Seeing this, Liu Zhidan was very moved.
But just like when he left home, he was so stupid that he couldn't say anything, just thanked his wife, and then gave a warm hug.
In 1936, in order to develop and consolidate the territory of the Red Army, Liu Zhidan needed to follow the Red Army's Crusade.
When he was parting with his wife, he forcibly suppressed the nostalgia in his heart, looked at the far away place he was about to go, and firmly said to Tong Guirong:
"I will be born to benefit the people, and to die to thank the people." In the past, because of the needs of the revolution, I did not care enough about you and your children, and I hope you can understand me. ”
Then Liu Zhidan picked up his daughter again and kissed her on the face:
"You are my good daughter."
Although Tong Guirong did not give up, he also understood the heavy responsibility borne by her husband and had to tearfully bid farewell.
But don't think about it, this difference is forever.
Portrait of Liu Zhidan
In April 1936, Liu Zhidan was unfortunately shot in the left chest during heroic combat on the front line of the Eastern Crusade and died regrettably.
At that time, he was not yet 33 years old.
At that time, Tong Guirong was suffering from typhoid fever.
After hearing the bad news, she fainted on the spot, and it took a long time to wake up.
After the grief, he wiped away his tears with GuiRong and said to Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao beside him:
"I was prepared, and it was glorious to die for the revolution."
Tong Guirong, who was ill at the time, could only lie in the hospital and could not go to the memorial service.
This also became the regret of her life.
Later, when he learned that Liu Zhidan was buried in an orchard in the south of the city, Tong Guirong came to the cemetery in a wheelchair.
At that time, the garden was full of pear blossoms, white, and it seemed that the flowers and trees were mourning for Liu Zhidan.
Faithful and faithful, in the same vein
After the death of her husband, Tong Guirong did not fall back from then on.
In 1938, she joined the Communist Party of China.
Later, in order to inherit his legacy, Tong Guirong devoted himself more diligently to the logistics support work of the Red Army.
She was deeply influenced by her husband's excellent quality of caring for others and enthusiastically served the vast number of Red Army soldiers.
It was just that the troops considered that it was very hard for Tong Guirong to take care of the children and participate in the work alone, and they wanted to give her some help many times.
But she politely refused.
Later, the army also sent Liu Zhidan's guard Xie Wuxiang to take care of her and her daughter.
But in this regard, Tong Guirong said:
"Comrade Wuxiang is still young, and he has strength. Now that the troops are in urgent need of people, how can I get off the hind legs of the troops, or let him do a good job in the troops. ”
The left is along with Gui Rong, and the left is Liu Lizhen
Before long, the troops wanted her to return to her hometown, hoping that this would lighten her burden and offer to give some sheep a living.
But Tong Guirong also said:
"Old Liu said before he died that if he can't come back, he must raise his daughter." He also said that he hoped that I would always be in the revolutionary ranks. It is true that I have no culture, but I have a heart and two hands, and I can still do something for the Red Army and for the revolution. ”
In this way, Tong Guirong inherited her husband's legacy and took her young daughter through the arduous revolutionary years step by step.
After the founding of New China, Tong Guirong began to engage in early childhood education, and served as the honorary dean and consultant of the kindergarten.
Later, she was elected as a deputy to the Fourth and Fifth National People's Congress.
Not only that, she never forgot the people in the old revolutionary areas.
In order to change the poverty situation in the old area, she has repeatedly paid out of her own pocket, raised funds to run schools, alleviated poverty and made outstanding contributions to the local economic development.
After retiring, Tong Guirong still actively read and studied, and strived to improve his ideological level.
Until November 1985, the 80-year-old Tong Guirong still wrote an inscription:
"Inherit Zhidan's legacy and carry the revolution through to the end!"
In addition to actively studying, Tong Guirong has made outstanding contributions to the broad masses of the people.
In the education of her children, she has never taken it lightly.
She worked tirelessly to raise her daughter.
And Liu Lizhen also thrived under the careful education of Tong Guirong.
Eventually, he was successfully admitted to China Medical University, and after graduating from university, he entered Shanghai First Medical College to continue his master's degree.
After graduation, she immediately devoted herself to the medical career in the motherland with outstanding achievements.
She has served as the director of Xi'an Medical Science Research Institute, the president of the Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Fifth to Seventh People's Congress of Shaanxi Province.
And this family style continues from generation to generation.
After Liu Lizhen married and had children, she strictly educated her descendants.
Always tell them not to have special thoughts just because their ancestors were martyrs.
The right one Liu Lizhen
postscript
On May 4, 1999, Comrade Tong Guirong died in Xi'an due to illness at the age of 94.
In order to remember her beloved husband and inherit her husband's legacy, Tong Guirong never remarried in his life.
Although her husband, Comrade Liu Zhidan, has only lived for more than thirty years, because of Comrade Tong Guirong's inheritance of her husband's legacy, its spirit has been continued and endured.
Today, although the two elders have left us, the spirit of the two has already affected their daughters and descendants.
It is believed that the dedication of the second elder will be immortalized in the long-term inheritance.
Bibliography:
Liu Zhidan's Story: Liu Zhidan's Love with Tong Guirong_Northern Shaanxi Information Network
【Red Tongchuan Party History】Ordinary and great women in northern Shaanxi -- Remembering General Liu Zhidan's wife and wife Tong Guirong_Tongchuan Municipal People's Government
"Lofty Ambitions, DanXin Xu Guo - Liu Zhidan's Road to Joining the Party": Guo Hao
"Mass Leader and National Hero - Liu Zhidan's Revolutionary Career": Wang Yuling, Wang Yali
"Ordinary and Great "Liu Sister-in-law"——Remembering General Liu Zhidan's Wife Tong Guirong": Xue Xinliang
"May there be "Dan Xin" passed down from generation to generation The story of Liu Zhidan's family": Yin Yan summoned Zhang Zhehao